Savannah-Chatham Police Chief Joseph Lumpkin is bringing a training program to the department aimed at instilling new leadership skills in officers, and proponents of the program say it could help cut down on attrition — a problem metro police have been struggling with for years.
“It will help people understand expectations, and their job satisfaction will be higher,” Lumpkin said of the training. “One of the byproducts is to improve their motivation, satisfaction and performance.”
The Leadership in Police Organizations development program is initially focused on sergeants, lieutenants and certain civilian staff members, but within a year will be expanded to all department employees, said spokesman Julian Miller.
The program, developed at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and adopted by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, has been used at more than 300 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
It will get everyone on the same page, Lumpkin said, and he believes it will improve relationships between the department and the community.
“We must perform legally, ethically, morally and appropriately, and this gives us a foundation for us all to be on the same page in terms of expectations,” he said. “... We want to develop a culture of character.”
Leadership
In addition to being the people who race toward dangerous situations, Lumpkin said, officers need to display another kind of courage that’s discussed in the course.
“They have to have courage to civilly confront when they see things that are not in the public interest,” he said. “If you do that, you won’t have problems with corruption.”
Lumpkin, who served as police chief in Athens for 17 years, installed the program there in 2007.
Justin Gregory, the training administrator for the Athens-Clarke County police department, said the program focuses on closing a gap between individual and group needs while recognizing both. It also provides a definition of leadership that’s common for the entire organization.
“It’s not just meeting the organization’s needs today,” Gregory said. “It’s a holistic approach to achieving that but bringing the individual on the long-term journey so they can assume leadership roles in the future.”
Savannah-Chatham police Sgt. Michelle Halford, who works in internal affairs and has been on the force 14 years, said she thought a change in leadership thinking is needed — and the course doesn’t just focus on the higher-ups.
“The main concept is that every employee is a leader in our organization, whether they’re a civilian or an officer or part of the executive chain of command,” she said.
She and Lt. Lenny Gunther said they were learning new ways to motivate their employees.
Gunther, also a 14-year veteran, said the training was the right move for the police force “considering the culture and the climate of the organization right now.”
“I believe it’s so important to communicate with our officers,” he said. “And this class is really teaching us to sit down and take the time to communicate with them and ... bring them to their fullest potential.”
Attrition
The current course is being taught by national instructors, but Lumpkin said he plans to send eight employees for training to keep the program going in-house.
The immediate focus on sergeants and lieutenants is because officers in those ranks are being considered for promotion. The metro police department has been losing employees and has about 40 fewer officers than its authorized strength of about 600.
That’s something Lumpkin said he would address when he took over as chief in November, and the training program is part of the process.
“If the young officers are not being developed, the organization will have serious voids,” he said.
Lumpkin said human resources staffers are looking at how to make jobs with the police department more competitive, and he intends to hire officers who plan to commit to metro for longer than two years. The chief said it’s common for police departments in larger cities to lose officers after just a few years to smaller towns.
Lumpkin said the department’s goal is to substantially reduce attrition this year.
Rod Manning, an instructor with the police chiefs association, has been teaching the course for eight years. He said the strategies taught in the program will help a police department that has trouble keeping officers.
“It will help if you look at the root cause,” Manning said. “We look at retention, we look at recruiting, we look at hiring — things like that, so it will help.”